


Hostile AU

by AlexMonopolyGirl



Series: Deanoru Life [1]
Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/F, Really angry, Some kissing, Tiny bit of plot, episode 10, just having some fun y'all, just roll with it people, karolina's angry, nico's too smitten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 17:53:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13463457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexMonopolyGirl/pseuds/AlexMonopolyGirl
Summary: They rescue Karolina, or Karolina's recues herself?? The blonde reveals some important things to her friends, she's got some anger issues and Nico's got feels, okay?





	Hostile AU

**Author's Note:**

> So...you'll notice some stuff are different, like Nico's got the Staff. Well, just go with it, guys. Read the notes are the bottom.

**Disclaimer:: I don’t own Marvel’s Runaways nor the characters. I’m just playing around for a bit. I’ll put them back, I swear! If I get sued, the only thing they can take from me is my phone. Just saying.**

 

*********************************************************

 

As Alex drove the van around the corner Nico and Gert held onto for dear life. They tried to keep their shit together but it was almost impossible when Karolina, Chase AND Molly were literally inside the wolf’s den.

 

A sudden explosion rocked everything including the van. Part of the church’s walls and the large windows exploded outwards, debris and glass raining onto the street in a blaze of colorful lights just as Alex hit the brakes of the van and they Gert slammed the side-door open.

 

“What the hell was that?!” Alex shouted from the driver’s seat, his almost frantic eyes fixated on the door their friends were supposed to use.

 

“I don’t know!” Gert shouted back. Fortunately the van wasn’t within range of the explosion.

 

“There was light! What if it was that Jonah guy? Or Karolina!” Nico tried to bit down her panic but she could feel it cursing through her veins like poison.

 

Chase and Molly burst out the door running straight towards the van amid the shouting of their friends to get in. Chase, carrying a passed out Karolina on his back, didn’t hesitate to jump into the vehicle, pretty much dump the passed out blonde into Nico’s and Gert’s arms and slam the door shut while Alex peeled away from the building, fast enough to put as much distance as possible but not enough to alert the police.

 

“What the fuck happened?!” Nico exclaimed as Molly and Gert helped her lay Karolina down, her head on Nico’s lap.

 

“What was that explosion?” Gert asked her sister at the same time.

 

“I think it was Karolina,” Molly replied as she slumped against the side of the van opposite to their resident Goth witch.

 

“What happened? Is she okay? The fuck did they do to her? What did they do to you?” Nico looked down at the passed out blonde on her lap. Karolina was pale, paler than ever before, but seemed otherwise unharmed. That didn’t mean Nico would be satisfied until Karolina woke up and she could see it with her own two eyes.

 

“We’re not sure,” Chase answered from the passenger’s seat.

 

“Let’s get back to the camp and talk there, alright?” Alex suggested.

 

“She kept saying something about sun or sunlight, I’m not sure,” Molly supplied, trying to help as much as she could. As if she hadn’t done enough.

 

“I have a theory about that, we’ll see when we get back to the camp,” Chase told them. “For now, I think she’s fine. Just passed out from exhaustion.”

 

Nico glanced at Gert, who tried to give her a reassuring look and nodded, adjusting her grip around the girl in her arms. Fear and relief fiercely battled inside her chest: fear because she didn’t know what was wrong with Karolina and even the idea of losing her was crippling and relief because it seemed they weren’t being followed and at least Karolina was back, safe with them.

 

*********************************************************

 

With a little luck and a little magic courtesy of Nico’s Staff they made it back to their camp, all of them letting out a sigh of relief.

 

Chase quickly jumped from the passenger’s seat, opened the door and crouched next to Nico, looking at her with kind, understanding eyes and Nico felt like punching him for it.

 

“Let me carry her?” He asked gently and Nico’s urge to punch him increased for some reason.

 

“Sure,” Nico mumbled instead, unsure (but kind of grateful) as to why he asked her.

 

“Can someone spread out the blankets on the ground for her? Make sure it’s a sunny spot,” Chase asked out loud and Gert and Molly instantly went to do it.

 

As Chase gently picked up Karolina and took her outside the vehicle, the blonde making an impression of a rag doll in his arms, Nico stood there next to the van, rooted to her spot by the helpless feeling spreading across her chest. She felt helpless and not for the first time and that made her feel angry and it was impossible to stop once she got going.

 

The Staff of One in her hand (Nico hadn’t even realized she was still holding it) gave a little hum that went right up Nico’s arm. Somehow she knew the Staff was reacting to her and trying to offer a little comfort.

 

“Hey.” Alex stepped besides her. “Do you think that maybe you can, I don’t know, cast some sort of protection spell around the camp?”

 

“I don’t know, I never tried it,” Nico muttered, her eyes fixated on Karolina, who was peacefully lying on her makeshift bed in the sun.

 

“Nico, I know you’re worried about Karolina, we all are, but we need you to try and focus,” Alex told her gently as he could, not wanting to incur Nico’s wrath one again. There wasn’t a best way to say it but he had to. They _needed_ Nico to try.

 

Nico’s eyes were suddenly onto him burning with an anger that he was sadly familiar with and Alex realized he probably said the wrong thing. Again.

 

“ **Now** you’re worried about Karolina? **Now**?” Nico sneered. Alex opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. “Forget it. I’ll try,” she said and walked away, the Staff practically vibrating in her hand in that way that Nico always felt before using it. It was as if the Staff wanted her to use it.

 

 _‘C’mon, girl. We gotta do it right…to keep her safe,’_ she thought as if she was speaking to the Staff, which gave another hum. Nico took it as an affirmative.

 

Old Lace appeared out of nowhere, having waited for them despite Gert’s instructions and goodbye. The purple-haired was happy to see her and they got to work, helping Molly, Chase and Alex to build a fire-pit with rocks and drag large logs they could use to sit on around the fire. They all kept glancing at Karolina, who slept peacefully in the sun three feet away from them, worried for her wellbeing. Even Old Lace shared their concern.

 

“So what happened back there?” Gert asked unable to hold it in much longer.

 

“Let’s wait until Nico comes back,” Chase said.

 

“Don’t bother, I’m here,” Nico said as she reappeared all the sudden next to him.

 

Gert and Molly wordlessly moved on the log so Nico could sit (closest to Karolina) so Nico sat and glanced at the blonde, the now shrunken Staff laid on her lap.

 

“So?” She prompted him, not even caring if she was being rude.

 

Chase didn’t take it personally and simply begun to explain what happened once they got into the Gibborim van.

 

“…We headed to the room where Karolina was supposed to be and exploded, pieces of walls and doors just… Boom! And light, there was light everywhere! We weren’t hit with anything but saw Karolina staggering towards us, the light…I think it was coming from her. But she was…” Chase shook his head, unable to put words into what he saw.

 

“She looked outta it. Her lights were on but they were…dimmed,” Molly added her two cents. “And she had her bracelet in her hand and kept muttering about sunlight…”

 

“We put the bracelet on her and carried her out. She passed out on the way,” Chase finished the explanation. He glanced at the sleeping blonde and sighed. “Right now, I think we should take it off, actually.”

 

“What, her bracelet?” Nico asked.

 

“Why?” Gert asked right after.

 

“Well, Karolina and I figured that her powers were some kind of energy form and her bracelet was an inhibitor or suppressor of that energy. Even in her state she kept mentioning sunlight so I’m thinking…”

 

“Sunlight could charge her and her powers?” Alex asked.

 

“Solar energy, yeah. It’s just a theory, sure. But I don’t think we’ve got another option. Take off her bracelet and wait,” Chase nodded at his own words but a frown formed in his face. “I don’t feel comfortable with that, though. She’s not awake to….ya know…Agree.”

 

Both Nico and Gert nodded in understanding.

 

“Her color is coming back. Let’s see if we can wake her up long enough,” Gert said as she stood up and went to kneel on the blanket besides her friend. The purple-haired girl pressed the back of her hand against the blonde’s forehead. “Her temperature seems to be just fine,” she told the others.

 

Gently tapping her friend’s cheek, Gert made sure her voice wasn’t too loud. She wanted to awake her, not scare her.

 

“Karolina? Can you hear me? Karolina? We kinda need you to wake up.”

 

It took a few attempts and a lot of nudging but finally Karolina’s eyes fluttered open, focusing on the girl leaning over her after a few beats.

 

“….Gert? Wha…” Her voice was raspy and weak, and it broke Gert’s heart, but she at least recognized her.

 

“Karo, I need you to listen for a second. Can you do that? Do you understand the words I’m saying?” Gert asked, slowly, gently.

 

Karolina opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out so she nodded instead.

 

“We’re safe. But we need to remove your bracelet. We think it may help you recover. Can I take remove it? Do you understand what I’m saying?” Gert repeated her question just to make sure.

 

“…Yeah…” Karolina begun to lift her hand and Gert gently held her hand and wrist with her hands.

 

“Alright. I’ll remove your bracelet now,” Gert warned her.

 

“Off…Sun,” Karolina mumbled as she fell asleep once again, succumbing to her exhaustion.

 

“Here goes nothing,” Gert muttered to herself as she gently undid the clasp and removed the surprisingly heavy metal from the taller girl’s wrist and passed the bracelet to Nico automatically.

 

Karolina lit up instantly, colors swirling all over her body as the most beautiful rainbow in the sky. But they all noticed her lights were dimmed, not as quite bright as usual.

 

“You think she drained her powers causing the explosion? Like me when I fall asleep?” Molly asked in Chase direction.

 

“Why do you think it was Karolina?” Alex asked her instead.

 

“Yeah. Could’ve been that guy Jonah, he’s got similar powers,” Gert piped in as she retook her seat next to her sister.

 

“‘Cause of the lights,” Molly replied. “Dunno if you noticed, guys but Jonah’s lights seem more…purple-ish? Silver-ish? While Karolina’s like more rainbow,” the younger girl reasoned. “And when we saw the explosion…we saw the lights but they weren’t silver-ish.”

 

Chase nodded.

 

“True. Seemed more like Karolina’s than Jonah’s. Maybe we’re wrong but that’s what we saw,” Chase indicated Molly and himself.

 

“She was trying to escape,” Nico muttered to herself, unconsciously fidgeting with the bracelet she was still holding. “She was probably trying to escape. If we hadn’t gone back for her…”

 

“Don’t think like that,” Gert placed a tentative hand on Nico’s shoulder, hoping to provide at least some comfort. This was so not her forte. She ignored a pang of guilt in her heart, Nico was right; they should have never even hesitated. But she could deal with her guilt later. Right then, Nico needed support. “She’s back with us, we’re safe, for now at least. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

 

Before anyone could call her out on her sudden positivism, precious Molly chimed in, reaching across her sister to gently squeeze Nico’s arm.

 

“Karolina’s tough. She’s a superhero,” the younger girl grinned, attempting to lighten up the mood a little.

 

That got her at least a few smiles from her friends.

 

“She is,” Nico agreed.

 

*********************************************************

 

After three hours of lying under the hot afternoon sun, Karolina’s lights were back to their usual brightness and it didn’t take long for her to wake up, still a little bit tired but overall okay. Although she was slightly taken back by having the undivided attention of her five friends focused on her all the sudden. Six counting Old Lace, who happily nudged her side for a good ten minutes, letting out little purrs.

 

“We got some clothes earlier so you can change,” Molly told her.

 

“Privacy is severely lacking in our current situation but you can change in the back of the van,” Gert added.

 

Karolina swallowed the water she was drinking and nodded.

 

“Before anything else, I’ve got some stuff to tell you all.” The blonde looked down at her feet, swallowing the sudden anger and resentment and shame that spiked in her heart and simmered under her skin. “After you can decide if you still want me around…”

 

“Why…? Are you crazy? Why wouldn’t we-” Nico bit back her outburst when Karolina held up a hand.

 

“I found out things, when I was there…I… I’m not….” Karolina forced herself to face her friends. The friends, the family, she was willing to sacrifice herself for. She needed to say it out loud, and they had to know. “I’m not…fully human. I’m half-alien!” she blurted before she could rethink her words.

 

No one said anything for a solid minute, all staring at her (the urge to play with her bracelet was getting stronger by the second) obviously surprised except for Molly, who finally broke the silence.

 

“So you’re not completely human. So what?” The younger girl shrugged. “Thought you were going to say something actually bad. We kinda figured you weren’t completely human or were superhuman when we saw your powers.”

 

Karolina could feel her heart expand with love for Molly. Precious, lovely Molly whom she always saw as a baby sister.

 

“You really think that?”

 

Molly snorted and rolled her eyes at her, a smile illuminating her young face.

 

“Karolina, I remember you dressed up as Tinkerbell for Halloween so I could be Peter Pan ‘cause Gert didn’t want to when I was 9. Whoa, talk about foreshadowing, huh? So you’re half-alien, welcome to the club. We’re all **pretty freaking weird** in this group, in case you haven’t noticed. Who cares?” Molly made a pause at that. “Actually, I am super curious about it. But I’m sorry if I’m not trembling in fear at the sight of you.”

 

At Karolina’s teary look, Molly stood up, went up to her and hugged her tight. With her regular strength, not the super one ‘cause that would be dangerous. Karolina was frozen in her embrace for a moment but then she hugged her back.

 

“This doesn’t change who you are, Karo,” the younger girl told her and kissed her friend’s hair.

 

“Thank you, Molls.” Karolina sniffed but it wasn’t sad this time. She was ever so happy that the younger girl was present in her life.

 

“Molly’s right. You being half-alien or full alien doesn’t change who you are, Karolina,” Gert spoke kindly after getting over her initial surprise. “Specially considering the world we live in, it’d be terribly close-minded of us to judge you based on the origin of your nature.”

 

“ **You** know who you are, Karolina. **We** know who you are,” Nico told her, knowing the blonde would remember her words from the day of the Gala. Thinking _‘fuck it’_ the goth reached out and grabbed the blonde’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

 

Karolina shot them grateful looks along with many _‘thank you’_ , feeling nearly overwhelmed by their easy acceptance.

 

“This changes nothing, right?” Chase finally said. “Alien or not, who cares. We’re still a family and we stick together. This changes nothing.”

 

“I’d say…” They looked at Alex, who directed a little kind look towards the blonde. “ _The circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of live that determines who you are._ ”

 

Everyone stared at Alex, obviously surprised by his kind and wise words.

 

Molly frowned, though.

 

“Wait. Did you just quote **Pokémon**?” The girl asked, almost sure of it. “Yeah! That’s from that old Pokémon movie!”

 

Molly burst into giggles, which quickly spread around until they were all laughing hysterically, breaking the seriousness of the past few minutes. Alex blushed and muttered a bunch of _‘assholes’_ and _‘still a valid sentiment, Molly!’_ until he too joined the laughter.

 

“I really love you, guys,” Karolina breathed out, looking at her friends fondly. Their easy acceptance meant the world to her.

 

Old Lace huffed.

 

“I love you too, girl,” Karolina called out to the dinosaur, whom seemed to preen as if saying _‘of course you do’_. “She’s got your attitude,” she commented to her purple-haired friend with a grin.

 

“She’s my girl. Right, Lace?” If Gert sat up straight, almost puffing her chest out with pride, no one commented on it.

 

Old Lace gently laid her head on her master’s shoulder to receive some petting from Gert and Molly, who had returned to her seat.

 

“I think I can speak for everyone and admit that we are curious about it… If you don’t mind, of course.” Sure, they were all curious as Alex said, no one was going to deny that. But it wouldn’t be fair to push her to talk when it obviously unsettled her.

 

The smile vanished from Karolina’s face instantly but just as Nico opened her mouth to tell her it was fine, that she didn’t have to say anything, Karolina steeled herself for the explanation.

 

“He said…Kept going on about _‘our kind’_. Said they were a great civilization, decimated on a great big war a long time ago. Said that the ones who survived scattered all across the universe.” Karolina frowned as she told them, trying to remember all the things he had said.

 

“Wait. Who’s he?” Get asked.

 

At the anger suddenly flashing in Karolina’s eyes, Nico felt the need to grab her hand again, to offer comfort. To her surprise, she had never let go of the blonde’s hand in the first place so her hand gently squeezed Karolina’s. It didn’t do anything to dissipate the anger in her eyes, though.

 

“Jonah?” Nico asked when the blonde said nothing as seconds tickled by.

 

Karolina nodded.

 

“He told me that… we’re beings of energy, light. But unlike him, for some reason I absorb solar energy. Recharge with it. Hence why my lights are so…different than his. He said it probably is because I’m half-human,” Karolina explained, trying to swallow the anger she felt towards that man. But it was easier to cover the sun with a thumb.

 

“So he is…” Chase cleared his throat, hesitating because he wasn’t sure if it was right to ask or not.

 

“He…” Karolina clenched her teeth. “Jonah is my biological father,” she spit out, not being able to keep the venom out of her voice.

 

“Shit,” Nico breathed out what they were all thinking.

 

“Shit is an understatement, yeah.” Karolina ran her free hand through her hair, jaw clenched as another wave of anger washed over her. The girl sighed heavily, trying to release some of the tension in her body. Nico squeezed her hand gently, offering comfort and in any other moment the fact that Nico Minoru was holding her hand (in front of everyone!) would get her heart racing and her face blushing and her mouth smiling like an idiot. But in that moment it felt like a lifeline, keeping her grounded in a way that Karolina wasn’t quite able to describe. “I…struggled with who and what I am for so long,” she admitted with a frown. “But now that I know… That disgusting creep is my biological father…What does this make me?”

 

“Daughter of an asshole. Join the club,” Gert deadpanned.

 

Karolina looked up at her in surprise. Gert seemed serious but her eyes were kind, expressing sympathy and understanding and it occurred to her it was Gert’s way of trying to cheer her up, all dry sarcasm and sharp wit.

 

“At least I’m not alone in that club, huh?” Karolina let out a little chuckle at that, sending her purple-haired a thankful look.

 

As everyone laughed a little and voiced their agreement with her comment, Nico squeezed her hand again making Karolina look at her.

 

“Never alone,” the goth girl whispered, so only the blonde heard her. Karolina’s smile became just a bit more genuine.

 

“So what else did he tell you? I don’t suppose he revealed his evil master plan,” Gert finally asked her.

 

“No, he didn’t. Unfortunately, he’s not stupid. He didn’t say much after that, just kept ranting about feeling alone and that now he wouldn’t be alone anymore… He kept acting all friendly, in that creepy way of his.” Karolina shuddered at that, feeling the vile raising in her throat for a second. “Kept saying shit like that…I think he expected me to stay with him. I think he was trying to convince me to join him.”

 

“You think that was his intention?” Alex asked.

 

“I’m not sure but I think he was. ‘Cause he mentioned something like…with me by his side, we could achieve greatness.” Karolina shook her head as she couldn’t explain better. “For a moment, I thought he was going to hit me for real. He was so pissed.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I told him that he, Leslie and Frank could go fuck themselves for all I cared. That he made me sick and would never consider him my dad,” Karolina replied, the corner of her lip twitching upwards. She wasn’t sure what shocked her friends more: if what she said or her unusual cursing. Sure, Karolina didn’t cure much usually but it had felt quite liberating in the moment.

 

That got her some laughter and even high-fives from her friends, which she gladly obliged to even though it meant letting go of Nico’s hand. Figuring that it’d be weird if she grabbed the goth’s hand afterwards, Karolina chose to instead play with her bracelet.

 

“So what happened when we went to get you?” Molly asked, curious. “I mean, with the explosion. Was it really you?”

 

“I’m pretty sure it was me, yeah. The more he talked, the angrier I got. I never felt so angry, so…raging furious,” Karolina confessed. “Can’t exactly remember what happened but suddenly everything was lights and the wall was missing… But the lights….they were mine, not his. My bracelet was on the bed next to me and Jonah was on the floor, I think unconscious…” It was hard to remember, the memories were a little fussy. “I don’t really remember anything after that.”

 

“So you don’t remember finding us in the hallway?” Chase asked.

 

“Yeah, you seemed pretty out of it. Then pretty much collapsed, we barely caught you before you hit the floor.”

 

“I don’t remember any of that,” Karolina responded, mentally adding it to the list of missing memories thanks to her powers. “Nothing until Gert woke me up… It **was** you, right?” She checked with her friend.

 

“Yeah, was me. We decided to awake you because of your bracelet-”

 

“I remember,” Karolina interrupted her gently. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

 

“No problem.”

 

“For the record, next time just take the damn thing off,” Karolina told them, painfully aware of the solid metal around her wrist. She knew she needed it until she learnt to fully control her powers but at the same time, she hated it with a burning passion. More than she could explain with words.

 

No one said anything after that, because what could they say? Of course there would be a next time. Even if they didn’t know what would happen or what their next move was, they knew there would be a next time.

 

*********************************************************

 

Sun was beginning to dip in the horizon as Gert escorted Karolina to the van to change while the others went to get wood for the fire.

 

“So see what fits and it’s yours,” the shorter girl told her. She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth a few times but then she determined herself. “Hey, Karolina…”

 

“Yeah?” Karolina looked up from the clothes she was inspecting.

 

“First of all, thank you…for what you did for us.”

 

“You don’t have-”

 

“No, I do. We do. We should thank you,” Gert insisted. “Second, you should know…No one fought harder to go back for you than Nico did. Molly too but Nico was ready to kick all of our asses or go off on her own to get you back.”

 

“You shouldn’t have but…Really?” Karolina could feel herself beginning to smile and tried to tone it down in front of her friend but there was no use. Finding out that Nico fought for her, to rescue her, it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

 

Gert matched her smile.

 

“Yeah. She was this close to freaking the fuck out,” she admitted although she would never admit that tiny Nico could be really scary when she wanted to. “Just thought you should know.”

 

“Thanks, Gert.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Gert shot her a quick wink before walking away to join the search for wood.

 

Karolina watched her friend go and shook her head in disbelief, still smiling. Going back to looking at the clothes she found herself thinking about Gert’s words. Had Nico really been that concerned for her? Why? The logical thing to do was to run, they should have run. Why would Nico…Sure, Karolina knew Nico was a loyal person and she cared about all of them in her own way. But as she put on a pair of jeans that fit and a belt she found among the clothes, the nagging thought that she was trying hard to ignore kept making way to the front of her mind, flashes of their kiss and the look in Nico’s eyes were suddenly running through her head. She could still feel the softness of her lips, the taste of her dark lipstick, the sensation of her soft hair and warm skin beneath her fingertips but most of all the look in her dark eyes…

 

Karolina had never dared to imagine Nico could return her feelings (except for maybe dreams late at night in the privacy of her room) but…Maybe? Maybe she could have that chance?

 

She was so absent-minded her in own thoughts (putting on the only top that seemed to fit her, a yellow one with a star in the center of the chest) that she didn’t realize Nico was staring at her back, biting her lip to control her thoughts…

 

“What you did for us, was…was epic,” Nico spoke and Karolina would have been startled, had it been anyone else.

 

“Yeah, well…What you guys did for me was pretty epic too,” Karolina said as she moved to sit on the edge of the trunk. Looking right into Nico’s eyes, she added: “You should’ve run.” After all, it _was_ the logical thing to do and what she had told them to do.

 

Nico shifted from foot to foot.

 

“Some of us wanted to.” She sounded almost shy to Karolina’s ears and that just sent her heart racing. Since when was Nico Minoru shy?

 

“Not you,” the blonde stated. A smile tugged at her lips, happy and slightly smug because she knew Nico had fought for her.

 

Nico shook her head, her lips twitching into that slightly crooked side-smile of hers.

 

“Nope. Not me.”

 

Karolina glanced down, almost unable to deal with the intensity of Nico’s eyes. But just a second later Nico was approaching her, determined, and suddenly her soft lips were on hers, kissing her. Nico had initiated their second kiss. Nico Minoru was **kissing her** … Karolina beamed into the kiss, her heart soaring above in the skies. Her skin felt ablaze all over and if she hadn’t been wearing her bracelet, she’d be glowing brighter than the sun.

 

In that moment, Nico couldn’t help but think that the look and smile in the blonde’s eyes were more blinding than her lights. She kept the kiss short, Nico just didn’t think it was a good idea to get carried away when all their friends were out and about. They needed privacy, to talk and kiss all they wanted. But even that tiny kiss had sent her heart into overdrive; the poor little fellow was beating up like the drum from one of the symphonic metal songs she loved so much. It had felt amazing, exhilarating and _right._ And _terrifying_ but Nico tried not to pay attention to that.

 

Sharing another smile they went to walk away from the van although they stopped short when Nico stopped abruptly. Chase and Molly were approaching them, carrying wood for the fire.

 

“Where’s Alex?” She didn’t see him anywhere and their last conversation washed over her like a cold shower.

 

“I don’t know,” Molly said.

 

“He was here a minute ago,” Chase added.

 

“Oh my God. That little shit went and called his parents,” Nico groaned and shared an annoyed look with the taller girl next to her, who gave a little shrug in response.

 

*********************************************************

 

They decided as a group to not wait up for Alex to return after they had a bite to eat. The Staff would alert Nico if anyone entered the perimeter she had set up so they weren’t too worried for the time being and exhaustion was making it impossible to stay awake any longer.

 

All five of them had to sleep in the back of the van and for a moment it was awkward as hell. Chase took up more room than the girls so he tried to make himself as small as possible while Gert and Molly settled to his right and Karolina and later Nico settled to his left.

 

Unsurprisingly, Molly passed out first followed by Karolina, who settled on her side to leave as much space possible for Nico. Lying on her back, Nico was suddenly aware of the fact that her right side kept brushing against Karolina’s back, that Gert and Chase were still awake (locked in what seemed to be an intense stare/blushing contest) and could see her fidget in her spot if they glanced over.

 

Nico wasn’t really worried about her friends, though. Biting her lip, the girl rolled onto her side and scooted closer to the blonde keeping a couple of inches between them. Over the corner of her eye the goth noticed Gert and Chase settling together, _snuggling_ together and Nico smiled to herself. Those two needed to get their shit together but then again, Nico wasn’t that much better. _‘Fuck it,’_ she thought and slid closer until her front was pressed against Karolina’s back and her arm went over the blonde’s hip on top of the blanket before she could second-guess herself. Again. The taller girl was warm like a space heater, probably a sub product of her powers and Nico sighed as Karolina melted to her touch in her sleep. Something relaxed within her, something that (Nico hadn’t known) was tense and didn’t know how to define. But she felt calm and relaxed as the gentle warmth of the taller girl lured her to sleep.

 

If Nico Minoru fell asleep with a peaceful expression on her face and it was the best sleep she had in over two years… Well, no one was awake to see it.

**Author's Note:**

> SOOOO... First, I hope you all enjoyed this little one-shot of mine. Leave kudos, comment if you did. And if you didn't, sorry for wasting your time. Second, IF you guys like this one-shot then I'll post the second part. Actually, I'm writing a series, exploring a bit this version of mine. AND if people like the series well, it may go on for a while, follow their lives for at least a few years. So...that's it. Hope you guys liked it, let me know if you did and I'll see you all next time.


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